was arrived from _Champanel_ with 10,000 horse, on purpose to
see the capture of the castle, which he was assured by Zofar must soon
fall. This exploit so incensed the king and Zofar, that they pressed the
siege with the utmost fury, and did much harm to the works of the castle
by incessant discharges from their numerous artillery. But the renegade
Frenchman, who managed their greatest gun, was slain by a chance shot,
and the gunner who succeeded him was so ignorant that he did more harm
to his own party than to the Portuguese. All the neighbourhood
continually resounded with the incessant noise of the cannon, mixed with
the cries and groans of dying men; when a ball from the fort happened to
go through the kings tent, and sprinkled him all over with the blood of
one of his favourites, who was torn to pieces close by him. This so
terrified the king, that he immediately abandoned Diu, leaving the
command of the horse to Juzar Khan a valiant Abyssinian.

Khojah Zofar continued to press the siege, and there was much slaughter
and destruction on both sides; but this was more evident and prejudicial
in the castle, owing to the small space and the weakness of the
garrison. Mascarenhas on his part exerted every means for defence,
always repairing to wherever there was most danger, as desirous of
gaining equal honour with Silveyra who had so gallantly defended the
same place only a few years before. He was no less fortunate in
courageous women than Silveyra, as those now in the castle encouraged
the men to fight valiantly, and both assisted and relieved them in the
labour of repairing the walls. On one occasion that some Turks had got
within the walls and had taken post in a house, one of these valiant
females ran there with a spear and fought against the enemy, till
Mascarenhas came up with his reserve and put them all to the sword.
Zofar used every effort and device to fill up the ditches and to batter
down the walls of the castle; but equal industry was exerted by the
besieged to repair the breaches and to clear out the ditches, the prime
gentry doing as much duty on those occasions as the private soldiers and
masons; repairing every night such parts of the walls and bastions as
had been ruined in the day.

Astonished to see all the defences thus restored, and angry at the
obstinate resistance of so small a garrison, Zofar made a furious
assault upon the castle, but had his head carried off by a cannon-ball.
"In this violen